Deuteronomy 9 hits me, based on that Moses tells the Israelites that it is not because of their integrity or their righteousness that the LORD gave them the Promised Land, but it was due to God keeping His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and due to the wickedness of the foreign nations there.
Most of the time, anything positive that happens to me, I want to take 100% of the credit and do, at times, truly think that this positive event happened to me because of how good I am. Nope. Check the facts. Me claiming that I can see, makes me blind, and all I have, in my opinion, is a result of God’s will. I couldn’t cause myself to be born when I wanted to, and this is just one example that it’s all God behind this, not me. It was an important reminder for me to try to remember Who is running the show: God is, not me. Easier said than done, asking my God to help me grow in this truth more.
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Karlee
Mar 05
Deut beginning chapters: what really stuck out to me is diligently teaching your children and may your family be blessed! My husband, Josh, is blessed to have grown up in a huge family who really support each other and are very open in praying and talking about their faith tomorrow. Josh and I hope to instill those same values with our own boys and I love watching them grow up and see the ways they have already grown in their faith as toddlers.
Like
Karlee
Mar 05
"He restores my soul!" Psalm 23 ... in anything and everything, He restores my soul. I love that shift from Psalm 22 (despair) to Psalm 23 (He restores/leads/my cup overflows). So often do I see in my own life shifting from one extreme to the other as you see in the Psalms. I'm glad it's not just me that struggles with this! I think no matter what I am feeling, it is good to remember that He restores me. Teaching, motherhood, daily living...it can all be hard at times and He restores me and I am new each morning to continue in His ministry!
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Pastor Steve
Mar 05
Replying to
Yes, the struggle is real! If only we knew of the victory that is ours...may it shift our despair amid the struggles!
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Pastor Steve
Mar 02
I love in Deuteronomy 4 how Moses calls Israel to obedience. He doesn't shake his finger at them or talk down to them. He uses himself as an example of what happens to disobedience - consequences! We don't like that, and yet, the message is so that we are not separated from God. Moses uses himself as that example, reveals his sin and the consequence that he isn't able to enter into the promised land. I don't see him pout around like I would. I don't hear him complain that God is to hard, unfair, or unjust. He says, he cannot enter because his sin angered the LROD.
I pray that I can respond like Moses in the difficult times of life and trust fully that the Lord is faithfully at work for our good. For Moses, he didn't have to lead that stiff-necked and stubborn people. He didn't have to walk through the dusty broken creation. Even in his sinfulness, Moses entered not the promised land on the earth, but the glorious inheritance of heaven that awaits all of us who believe! Until then...we hear His call to obey and trust in every one of His promises!
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Karlee
Mar 05
Replying to
I never really picked up on how Moses stayed strong even in the face of his consequences (and admitting them!). May I also hear/see that example and put it into my own life when I am in the wrong.
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Ben
Feb 28
In Numbers ?12-15?, I liked how God was in the cloud hovering over the tabernacle to communicate to the Israelites to stay where they were camped at, or to leave camp when the cloud raised up.
Haha, I sometimes don’t think God physically and intentionally interacts with me in the world, yet He does. This is a nice reminder to me to try to keep my eyes open to Him working in this present world and in my life.
Like
Karlee
Feb 27
"Train up a child in the way he should go" - a ministry I am called to as a teacher and mother! In the throws of toddler discipleship and all that is to come as my boys get older. I constantly worry and wonder but know God takes and will continue to take care of them. I feel like I am finally starting to realize all the worries my own mother had/has with all of her kids.
Like
Karlee
Feb 24
Trust in the Lord! The Lord saves us and we rise up in Him! I really liked the imagery reading Psalm 20 today.
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Karlee
Feb 13
I'd be curious about what "expectations" or "rituals" we should have for the Sabbath now in the present day? We're not bound by law obviously but how can we/should we use that day in a similar fashion?
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Pastor Steve
Feb 16
Replying to
Churches have taken some pretty different approaches to this question. Some push a legalistic approach and apply laws that members should follow as demonstration of their faith. Others emphasize that we are free from the law so there shouldn't be any constraints. While both should be held in tension, we don't have clear parameters. Here are a few thoughts that can direct you as you look for a good fit for your family.
Worship should be a priority. How can you set up plans for Sabbath rest by coming to Jesus, who gives and is our Sabbath rest.
Rituals give us a clear path of moving forward in the Christian faith. Immanuel provides Everyday Encounters so that families regularly grow and change while celebrating to growth through regular discipleship.
Discipleship, learning from Jesus, is the primary focus for these expectations that you establish. What do your rituals and traditions actually teach and do they reflect faith in Jesus.
Consider the importance of character that reflects your faith. Your rituals and expectations are going to reveal your Christian character (or not). Make sure your light shines.
I am sure there is much more to discuss, but these are a few of my initial guiding thoughts!
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Karlee
Feb 10
Proverbs 10 - the opposites of righteous and "other." You read it and as a believer you want to put yourself in the righteous category but so often we fall short and are sinful that it's impossible. I think today I needed that reminder that I am a sinner and will fall short but how amazing is it that I am redeemed!
Like
Ben
Feb 06
Psalm 13 spoke to me. How long, Lord? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
I can relate to most of this, as I have been experiencing a lot of this even this week. At times I feel absolutely crushed with sorrow. When is it going to end? (I am safe, and don’t want to hurt myself). However, I really am grateful for the last couple of verses:
But I trust in Your unfailing love, my heart rejoices in Your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for He has been good to me.
I don’t always want to, feel like doing this, and truly don’t have the perfect holy motivations to rejoice in God, and want to sing His praises (most of the time I don’t want to do anything close to sing the Lord’s praise while I am in pain), however, it is a nice reminder to try to trust God and in His unfailing love, even when I don’t feel like it. Thinking back on how he has specifically been good to me (roof over my head, heat in the house, warm car to drive to work, a church home, etc.) helps try to look towards God and try to do His will more, than wallow in my pain. Grateful I can bring my pain to God and He hears me, and try to walk with Him through the fire.
Like
Pastor Steve
Feb 06
Replying to
I too love the Psalms. They reveal true human emotion in the fullest breadth. I am often dumbfounded when I see psalmists share their frustration, grief, anger, pain with the Lord and then return to the Lord in full faithful trust in His work. When we are reminded that our God is faithful, even in the pain, anger, grief, and frustration we can cry in His arms trusting that He is working for our good. It doesn't take that all away, but points us to the cross! This is where we see how our God cares for us. If we have been join in a death like His, we will certainly also be united in His glorious resurrection! The end of the book looks good for us who believe, therefore, we know God is faithful to deliver us from all evil into the kingdom of heaven!
Until then, we lament like the psalmists...and trust in the end of our stories as well as the promise of the deliverance Jesus brings! Come, Lord Jesus!
Deuteronomy 9 hits me, based on that Moses tells the Israelites that it is not because of their integrity or their righteousness that the LORD gave them the Promised Land, but it was due to God keeping His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and due to the wickedness of the foreign nations there.
Most of the time, anything positive that happens to me, I want to take 100% of the credit and do, at times, truly think that this positive event happened to me because of how good I am. Nope. Check the facts. Me claiming that I can see, makes me blind, and all I have, in my opinion, is a result of God’s will. I couldn’t cause myself to be born when I wanted to, and this is just one example that it’s all God behind this, not me. It was an important reminder for me to try to remember Who is running the show: God is, not me. Easier said than done, asking my God to help me grow in this truth more.
Deut beginning chapters: what really stuck out to me is diligently teaching your children and may your family be blessed! My husband, Josh, is blessed to have grown up in a huge family who really support each other and are very open in praying and talking about their faith tomorrow. Josh and I hope to instill those same values with our own boys and I love watching them grow up and see the ways they have already grown in their faith as toddlers.
"He restores my soul!" Psalm 23 ... in anything and everything, He restores my soul. I love that shift from Psalm 22 (despair) to Psalm 23 (He restores/leads/my cup overflows). So often do I see in my own life shifting from one extreme to the other as you see in the Psalms. I'm glad it's not just me that struggles with this! I think no matter what I am feeling, it is good to remember that He restores me. Teaching, motherhood, daily living...it can all be hard at times and He restores me and I am new each morning to continue in His ministry!
I love in Deuteronomy 4 how Moses calls Israel to obedience. He doesn't shake his finger at them or talk down to them. He uses himself as an example of what happens to disobedience - consequences! We don't like that, and yet, the message is so that we are not separated from God. Moses uses himself as that example, reveals his sin and the consequence that he isn't able to enter into the promised land. I don't see him pout around like I would. I don't hear him complain that God is to hard, unfair, or unjust. He says, he cannot enter because his sin angered the LROD.
I pray that I can respond like Moses in the difficult times of life and trust fully that the Lord is faithfully at work for our good. For Moses, he didn't have to lead that stiff-necked and stubborn people. He didn't have to walk through the dusty broken creation. Even in his sinfulness, Moses entered not the promised land on the earth, but the glorious inheritance of heaven that awaits all of us who believe! Until then...we hear His call to obey and trust in every one of His promises!
In Numbers ?12-15?, I liked how God was in the cloud hovering over the tabernacle to communicate to the Israelites to stay where they were camped at, or to leave camp when the cloud raised up.
Haha, I sometimes don’t think God physically and intentionally interacts with me in the world, yet He does. This is a nice reminder to me to try to keep my eyes open to Him working in this present world and in my life.
"Train up a child in the way he should go" - a ministry I am called to as a teacher and mother! In the throws of toddler discipleship and all that is to come as my boys get older. I constantly worry and wonder but know God takes and will continue to take care of them. I feel like I am finally starting to realize all the worries my own mother had/has with all of her kids.
Trust in the Lord! The Lord saves us and we rise up in Him! I really liked the imagery reading Psalm 20 today.
I'd be curious about what "expectations" or "rituals" we should have for the Sabbath now in the present day? We're not bound by law obviously but how can we/should we use that day in a similar fashion?
Proverbs 10 - the opposites of righteous and "other." You read it and as a believer you want to put yourself in the righteous category but so often we fall short and are sinful that it's impossible. I think today I needed that reminder that I am a sinner and will fall short but how amazing is it that I am redeemed!
Psalm 13 spoke to me. How long, Lord? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
I can relate to most of this, as I have been experiencing a lot of this even this week. At times I feel absolutely crushed with sorrow. When is it going to end? (I am safe, and don’t want to hurt myself). However, I really am grateful for the last couple of verses:
But I trust in Your unfailing love, my heart rejoices in Your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for He has been good to me.
I don’t always want to, feel like doing this, and truly don’t have the perfect holy motivations to rejoice in God, and want to sing His praises (most of the time I don’t want to do anything close to sing the Lord’s praise while I am in pain), however, it is a nice reminder to try to trust God and in His unfailing love, even when I don’t feel like it. Thinking back on how he has specifically been good to me (roof over my head, heat in the house, warm car to drive to work, a church home, etc.) helps try to look towards God and try to do His will more, than wallow in my pain. Grateful I can bring my pain to God and He hears me, and try to walk with Him through the fire.